Time for a challenge! H&H’s Joel Bray and Reiko Caron bring high style to a tiny, sterile space - a university dorm room at Ryerson University in Toronto. Learn how to fully transform a dull room into a stylish, young adult living space by adding personality with fabrics and accessories. Oh, and Joel builds a headboard in under 10 minutes. No big deal.
The space came with a number of restrictions, like bossy carpeting and a dull blue color palette, so Joel and Reiko had to work with the room’s decor instead of against it. After repositioning the furniture and removing a lot of the pieces, like burgundy curtains, a side table, a task lamp, chair, and “prison bedding,” an extension rod was added to display layered sheer and dark drapes. The same drapes are used to hide the closet, but on shower curtain rods since they’re adjustable. Joel created a headboard with cardboard, foam and pretty patterned fabric for the bed, which was styled with throw pillows and a sequined duvet. A classic table lamp brings light to the bedside and desk, while an inexpensive large framed map - which was DIY’d - adds the final pop of pretty, helping to transform the 100-square-foot room into a stylish, young adult living space.